City College of San Francisco closed its Civic Center Campus building in January due to concerns over its vulnerability in an earthquake.

City College of San Francisco’s Civic Center Campus will reopen this fall at an interim site on Market Street, after it was abruptly closed earlier this semester due to earthquake-safety concerns, school officials announced Wednesday.

The 22,668-square-foot site at 1170 Market St. will host all of the classes that were relocated after the school’s 750 Eddy St. facility closed in January.

CCSF signed a six-year with the Art Institute of California to occupy the site. CCSF Special Trustee Guy Lease is expected to approve the lease Monday. It will cost $737,962 in the first year, with annual increases reaching $985,000 in the sixth year, CCSF spokesman Jeff Hamilton said.

Five floors will be leased by CCSF, and it was not immediately clear if the Art Institute will also continue operating out of the building.

The Civic Center Campus offers traditional studies and English as a Second Language programs. Since its closure, the community has rallied for CCSF to continue offering classes near the Civic Center site. Teachers said it was particularly challenging to notify students of the changes because many of them do not speak English.

After the closure, classes were moved to another CCSF site at 33 Gough St.. However, they were halted shortly thereafter due to seismic-safety concerns at that property. Classes were then spread out among the Chinatown, Mission and Downtown campuses.

The Board of Supervisors in March unanimously passed a resolution urging CCSF to swiftly repair and reopen the Civic Center Campus. A hearing with the board’s Neighborhood Services Committee is scheduled Thursday afternoon to provide an update on the progress.

“We are very excited about our new interim Civic Center facility on Market Street.,” Chancellor Arthur Tyler said in a statement Wednesday. “The building was built as an educational space, is as close to the community as our original site and is nearly the same size.”

Tyler added that CCSF has started planning for a restored permanent Civic Center Campus at its Eddy Street location, originally built in 1911.

About The Author

Bio:
Laura Dudnick, a Bay Area native, covers education and planning for The San Francisco Examiner. She previously worked as a senior local editor for Patch.com, and as the San Mateo County bureau reporter and weekend editor for Bay City News Service.